Vigan Cathedral closed due to 7.0 Earthquake

Msgr. Gary Noel S. Formoso, the rector and parish priest of the Vigan Cathedral announced that the church will be temporarily closed for post-earthquake inspection. The announcement was posted on the Cathedral’s Facebook page.

Photos from Vigan Cathedral Facebook page

This morning, July 27, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Lagangilang, Abra at 8:43 AM. However, the earthquake was felt even in the neighboring provinces causing damages in the structures including the 400-year old Vigan Cathedral.

The Vigan Cathedral or the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle is a famous and historical landmark in the Ilocandia. The present structure was completed in the 1800. The original structure was just a chapel built in 1574 under the command of panish founder of Vigan, Juan de Salcedo. The cathedral building included influences from Baroque architectural design, neo-Gothic, pseudo-Romanesque and Chinese craftsmanship.

The Vigan Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.